Inkablinka

Guardians of the Hearth lantern

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Kristin

The February 2012 Visiting Teaching Message, “Guardians of the Hearth“, discusses how women can strengthen families and homes. As I was contemplating what the hearth signifies, and the relationship of women in the home, some interesting ideas evolved.

The hearth, and the fire within, was once the center of domestic and social life because it provided warmth, illuminated homes, and cooked food. Placement in the center of the house maximized the number of people able to get around the warmth of the fire. The tealight above represents the fire in the hearth.

If we consider making Jesus Christ the center of our homes – the light that illuminates, warms and nurtures, and women the guardians and caretakers of that light, we have a beautiful metaphor represented in this month’s visiting teaching aid. The paper lantern represents women and the things we can do to protect the light in our homes while following Christ’s doctrines and relying on Him to help us.

To make your lantern, print on color copy paper, then cut the bottom portion off at the dotted line.

Fold in half, then cut through the fold and down the printed lines. (The things I chose to print on these lines came from the Visiting Teaching message, as well as from points in the Proclamation on the Family.)

Unfold the paper, then bend into a circular shape.

Tape the two sides together, then set over your lit candle. (I put the tealight inside a baby food jar to keep the flame away from the paper.)

Hope you have a great month! You can download the “Guardians of the Hearth” paper lantern below:

Spanish (click here to download entire post in Spanish)

Thank you so much to my translators: Birgitta, Blanche, Christine, Ana Carolina, Priscila, Delmy, Sasha, May and Cheiko!

Posted in relief society | Tagged visiting teaching | 33 Comments

Seeking the Spirit

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Kristin

This week’s Young Women lesson is Seeking the Companionship of the Holy Ghost from Manual 1 Lesson 4. I found myself drawn to material in the 2012 Resource Guide, particularly the talk from Elder Bednar, Receive the Holy Ghost.

I made a worksheet to use while discussing the talk, which you can download here.

I am also thinking of beginning my lesson with an idea from How? Essential Skills For Living the Gospel, which is as following (You can see more from the sample page):

Please sincerely answer the following question in your mind: When was the last time you remember really feeling the Spirit or having been influenced by the Holy Ghost? Got your answer?

So when was it? How long ago was the event that you immediately thought of? What was the event? We have asked this question to many youth over the years, and we hear common answers such as: “It was at our testimony meeting at camp” or “When I received my patriarchal blessing” or “I really felt the Spirit at EFY.” However, it’s less common for a youth to answer this question by saying, “I really felt the Spirit this morning when I prayed,” or “About ten minutes ago when we sang the opening hymn and I felt peace,” or “Just this morning when I received a subtle impression to say ‘hi’ to a person without many friends.” Why is that so?

Each week when we partake of the sacrament we are promised to “always have [God’s] Spirit to be with [us]” (Moroni 4:3). Notice the word always. The promise is not that we will have the Holy Ghost with us sometimes, or just in Church buildings, or during major life events. No, we are promised that the Spirit will be with us always—at school, at practice, in our home, with our friends, at work, and at play. Always. So why then do we at times have to search back months or years into the deep recesses of our memories to recall the last time we think the Spirit influenced us?

Elder David A. Bednar said, “Sometimes as Latter-day Saints we talk and act as though recognizing the influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives is the rare or exceptional event” when the reality is that “the Holy Ghost can tarry with us much, if not most, of the time—and certainly the Spirit can be with us more than it is not with us.”

Perhaps the problem is not that we aren’t being influenced by the Holy Ghost in our daily lives, but simply that we don’t recognize it and are overlooking it. We have been promised that the Holy Ghost can be with us always – each day of our lives; not just each major event in our lives. The next time somebody asks, “When was the last time you felt the Spirit?” you want to be able to respond by saying, “Well, what time is it?”

From this discussion we will talk briefly about what the Holy Ghost feels like, what his roles are (as outlined in True to the Faith, 81-84), and then we will go into Elder Bednar’s talk.

There are also some nice Personal Progress experiences I hope to encourage the young women to pursue: Choice and Accountability value experience 5; Integrity value experience 2; Virtue value experience 2.

Posted in youth | Tagged YW Manual 1 | 6 Comments

Leap into Personal Progress

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Kristin

It just so happens that our New Beginnings program is scheduled to be held on Leap Day this year: February 29th. I thought it would be fun to plan the evening around this theme of “taking a leap”, and thereby jumping into Personal Progress with renewed enthusiasm. I’d love to meet with our Beehives turning 12 this year and take some photos of them leaping, and introduce them by talking about things that make them “jump for joy”. There is also a leap of faith involved when young women first begin working on experiences and projects, that the time and effort they put into these things will reap a great harvest of spiritual growth and understanding.

These origami jumping frogs make great invites.

They can be made in all the value colors, and then used as decoration on the refreshment table as well. I have two versions you can download: one with the date and time, and one without. Print on cardstock to make the best leapers.

This video shows how to fold the frogs.

You could make these froggy cupcakes for refreshments. Click on the photo above for how to make.

One last thought about taking leaps of faith: When we stretch ourselves to try something new, when we jump out of comfort zones, we rise to greater heights and have moments of beauty and brilliance that otherwise may not have happened. We arise and shine forth!

Click the following for a skit idea.

(Note: the leaping photos are uncredited – I found them on Pinterest and don’t know their source.)

Posted in New Beginnings | 20 Comments

Following Christ

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Kristin

It's not like they're mutually exclusive options...

Please excuse the slightly irreverent cartoon. I came across it on BCC, when they posted about following General Conference through various social media – including twitter and facebook. I thought it might be a fun way to get our girls’ attention to begin Manual 1 Lesson 3: Following the Example of Jesus Christ.

I plan to follow the lesson manual fairly closely, while also using Holy Handout’s writing prompt and quote. I also love the Christlike Attribute Activity found on page 126 of Preach My Gospel.

I plan to encourage the girls to either review or begin the Divine Nature value experience #7 (by sending a reminder through facebook – see, it’s not mutually exclusive!):

Learn the definition of the word peacemaker. Then find and read five scriptures that teach about peacemakers. Become an example of a peacemaker in your home and at school as you refrain from criticizing, complaining, or speaking unkindly to or about others. Pray each morning and evening to Heavenly Father for help to do this. After two weeks write in your journal what new habits you want to develop, how being a peacemaker is part of your divine nature, and how you will continue to be a peacemaker.

Posted in youth | Tagged YW Manual 1 | 1 Comment

Arise and Shine Wands

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Kristin

We like to give the young women in our ward a little gift on the Sunday before their birthdays. This year we are making “Arise and Shine” wands made with giant Pixy Sticks.

I wanted the top to resemble a sunburst (shine!), and the butterfly to represent us as we arise and follow the Savior. We will have this vase full, and the girls can choose what flavor they want from the wand bouquet.

image source: Gillian Greding's "All the Small Things"

You can find the tutorial I used by clicking on the image above. I used 8.5 x 11″ yellow copy paper instead of scrapbook paper, and I made the Arise and Shine circle which you can download here in English or here in Portuguese. The butterfly is punched from gold glitter cardstock and folded in half, so the wings are lifted in flight! I used a glue dot to adhere the butterfly to the circle.

These could also be fun for a take-home for a New Beginnings program.

Posted in birthdays, youth | 13 Comments

Something Extraordinary

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Kristin

I helped my sister create this poster to display her ward’s Relief Society goals. I love the quote their presidency chose as their year’s theme: “We are going to do something extraordinary”; spoken by Emma Smith in the early days of the Church. It’s caused me to ponder some of the extraordinary things we are given the opportunity to be a part of as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – and also the means by which we can accomplish those things. I think it’s appropriate that this heads their goals or areas of focus. All great things start with a plan, and as I evaluate the things I would like to accomplish this year, I am impressed to think a little bigger, to make the seemingly mundane things in my life extraordinary as a result of the application of some extra thought and structure.

This poster is sized 16 x 20″, and I have created a downloadable file minus the goals set by this ward. You can get it here (in English), or here (in Spanish) and add your own ward-specific goals.

Posted in relief society | 7 Comments

Arise and Shine Forth Treat Jar

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Kristin

We like to have a small treat to recognize the young women who are working on their personal progress every week. Anyone who has worked on an experience or project can come to the front of the room and grab a goodie from this little jar filled with light.

I wanted a container for our goodies that goes along with the mutual 2012 theme: “Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations” (Doctrine and Covenants 115:5). I found inspiration in hot air balloons, lighthouses, and all kinds of sparkly things (check out my pinterest board).

I finally decided to put a battery-operated tea light in the top of a glass apothecary jar. I used a couple glue dots so I can easily remove or replace the tea light. Each month as the value theme changes I will just tie on a new ribbon and fill with different candy.

Our January value is Choice and Accountability, which is orange (obviously). I made stickers that connect the mutual theme to the value: “Arise and Shine Forth by choosing good over evil and accepting responsibility for your decisions”, and stuck them on the candy packages.

Don’t the candy corns almost look like little flames of light? You can download the file for the stickers I made here in English. Also in Portuguese.

Posted in youth | 3 Comments

Daughter of God

Posted on December 28, 2011 by Kristin

This Sunday I am teaching from YW Manual 1 Lesson 1. I found this handout from Jennysmith.net, but altered it by using a different quote found in the 2012 YW Resource Guide.

I wanted to see how it looks on the bathroom mirror. Kind of awesome. You can download the mirror heart here.

There is a lot of wonderful material in this lesson, and I particularly love the talks given by Susan Tanner and Elaine S. Dalton. I am thinking of ending my lesson with some of Sister Dalton’s talk (which could be a nice introduction to the 2012 Mutual theme):

Young women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, remember who you are! You are elect. You are daughters of God. You cannot be a generation of young women who are content to fit in. You must have the courage to stand out, to “arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.” The world would have you believe that you are not significant—that you are out of fashion and out of touch. The world calls to you with unrelenting, noisy voices to “live it up,” “try everything,” “experiment and be happy.” Conversely, the Holy Ghost whispers and the Lord invites you to “walk in the paths of virtue,” “lay aside the things of this world,” “and cleave unto [your] covenants.”

I have always loved the story of the son of King Louis XVI of France because he had an unshakable knowledge of his identity. As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men who had dethroned his father, the king. These men knew that if they could destroy him morally, he would not be heir to the throne. For six months they subjected him to every vile thing life had to offer, and yet he never yielded under pressure. This puzzled his captors, and after doing everything they could think of, they asked him why he had such great moral strength. His reply was simple. He said, “I cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a king.”

Like the king’s son, each of you has inherited a royal birthright. Each of you has a divine heritage. “You are literally the royal daughters of our Father in Heaven.” Each of you was born to be a queen.

Young women, look into the mirror of eternity. Remember who you are! See yourself as our Heavenly Father sees you. You are elect. You are of noble birth. Don’t compromise your divine inheritance. You were born to be a queen. Live so you are worthy to enter the temple and there receive “all that [the] Father hath.” Develop deep beauty. There is no more beautiful sight than a young woman who glows with the light of the Spirit, who is confident and courageous because she is virtuous.

Posted in Uncategorized, youth | Tagged YW Manual 1 | 2 Comments

Ornament boxes

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Kristin

I love the idea of having a box full of Christmas memories to give my girls when they leave our home and start their own families. Since we made so many ornaments this month, I feel like we have a great start on their boxes. Besides the wire temple, Christmas symbols and Shores of Galilee ornaments, I added some nesting dolls, toys, and fancy boxes from my Abu Dhabi stash.

I love what Patti Brown wrote about her family tradition of an ornament and letter every year, and would like to do something similar: “Every year I purchase an ornament for my son, and take some time to write him a letter about our year. I include really basic things, like who is currently President, how much a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas costs….those types of things. I also include personal reflections and thoughts about the year, what was going on in our family, and of course, quite a bit about him specifically. This typically ends up being a fairly lengthy letter – at least two pages – but it’s something I love doing every year. It brings me a sense of peace and closure about the year, and it also makes me feel like I will somehow be able to be connected to him down the road, even after I’m gone. I’m very honest in the letter – I share with him the struggles we have faced during the year, and how we made it through. Inevitably, because our faith is very important to us, I typically also share something about that. I fold up the letter, and tuck it in with whatever ornament I purchase for him, and store it in a box that will someday accompany him when he ventures into adulthood. I try to purchase an ornament that reflects something about the year. ”

Such a great idea, and reminds me of Susan’s (from Mothers who Know) daughter journals.

Posted in Christmas | 7 Comments

Christmas gifts photo op

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Kristin

The last couple years I’ve had great success taking pictures of my girls with their Christmas presents, later in the day. I love how the gifts are a reflection of their interests and personalities, and it is always fun to see how they interact with their new besties.

These pictures were taken just before noon. We had already gone and come back from church, so hair was done and everyone was looking pretty good. We all changed back into pajamas (as is our normal routine – but today we had new Christmas p.j.’s to rock!)

I have a large north-facing window in our family room. I have the girls sit in the “sweet spot” where the light hits their faces just right, and where I can get some lights from the Christmas tree behind them in the frame.

I put baby in a chair, so she would be where I wanted her for 5 seconds. My camera is on manual, with the aperture wide open (f 1.8) and the speed set one notch over-exposed on the light meter in camera. I made sure all my settings were pretty before this little one was in front of me – because really, 5 seconds were all she gave me.

My 4-year old wanted to stay in her church clothes, with her hair wild and free. That was okay, too! This was a natural look of surprise when her globe opened up and all the people inside fell out. I had to click fast, people.

She had ideas about what she wanted in her picture, so I waited for a few minutes for her to set up her tableau. She wouldn’t look directly at the camera, but I love the expressions and true-to-life images I got with her. Changing perspective (lay on your tummy, stand on a chair, squat low) will help you get better photos.

My 9-year old loves the camera, and will do absolutely anything I ask her. I told her to look at me from over her open book, and I love what this photo tells about her. She loves art, silliness and creative expression.

One of her favorite gifts was a replacement library card – so I suggested she give it a little kiss. We are hoping this one sticks around longer than the first. She needs that card for computer time at the library.

My husband designed this card as a gift to our girls – a trip to Great Wolf Lodge in January. My 12-year-old is over the moon about the trip, and the little gift card that came with it. With the aperture set low, I was able to focus on the card while everything else in the background is blurred.

I just came across this series that has some nice tips for taking your camera off of auto, and getting better photos. Good luck!

Posted in Christmas | 1 Comment